Hair dressing device



June 3, 1941. c. KAY

HAIR DRESSING DEVICE Filed Dec. 3, 1938 2 Sheets-She'et 1 to. 8 o

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INVENTOR consTanrlne K05 BY 1 L HIS TORNEY INVENTOR II II II 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 C. KAY

HAIR DRESSING DEVICE Filed Dec. 3, 1958 Y June 3; 1941,

Patented June 3, 1941 art sts UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAIRLDRESSING DEVICE Constantine Kay, New York, N. Y.

Application December 3, 1938, Serial- No. 243,790

13: Claims.

This invention relates to hair dressing devices.

It is anobject of the invention to provide an improved device for-dressing the hair and forming'a curl therein.

A f-urtherobj'ect of the invention is the provision of an improved deviceforcurling the hair, which maybe thrust into a lock of hair, operated to carry out the desired curling operation, and removed from the curled lock. of hair withut disarranging the curl.

Preferred embodiments of the invention comprise a substantially smooth-walled casing of relatively'small diameter, within which casing is disposed a plurality of extensible or retractible combing or brushing elements arranged to be manipulated into operative position after the device has been inserted into. the hair, and to be withdrawn into said smooth-walled casing subsequent to the formation of the. hair, curl and prior to the removal of the device from the curled hair.

It is a feature" of the present. invention that the plurality of combing or brushing elements, when in combing position, extend substantially radially from the casing structure. Thus, the lock of hair is. engaged by the plurality of brushes or combs, such plurality of operative. elements, as compared with a single comb element, greatly improving the appearance and set of the curled hair.

In curling the hair with my improved brushing and curling. device, the device may be. introduced into the hair. with the brushes or. combs withdrawn into the tubular body, and the brush-- ing or curling; elements then moved to extended positions, to engage the strands. of, hair. Upon. twirling the device with the fingers, the combing or brushing elements simultaneously brush the hair and wind the strands thereof tightly about the tubular body, forming. a tight. curl having an internal diameter closely approximating the diameter of. the. housing. After the hair has been manipulated into the desired tightness of curl, the brushing or combing elements ofthe device are withdrawn into the body, whereupon the substantially smooth-walled housing may be extracted from the hairwithout disturbing the curl.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a reduced-scale perspective of one form of device made pursuant to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is'an enlarged sectional elevation of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig; 3 an illustration of a form of combing element actuating means;

Fig. 4 is arepresentationof the device of Fig. 2, withthe brush elements in extended position;

Fig. 5 is a section taken on 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is asection taken on 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a section taken on l--'l of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 9 is a section taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8, illustrating the comb elements in completely' withdrawn position;

Fig. 10 is a section similar to Fig. 9, but iilu trating the comb elements in extended position;

Fig. 11 is an elevation, partly in section, of the form of combing-element actuating means of the embodiment of Fig. 8;

Fig. 12 is a sectional elevation of a third form of the invention;

Fig. 13 is a sectional elevation of the embodiment of Fig. 12, illustrating the brush elements in fully withdrawn position; and

Fig. 14 is a section similar to Fig. 13, but showing the brush elements in extended position.

Figure 1 is typical of the various embodiments of the present invention, hereinafter described in detail. The hair dressing device, in its preferred forms, comprises a tubular, and preferably cylindrical, housing 28, having a handle portion 2 I, suitably located with respect to-which is any desired form of brush actuating finger piece 22. Aplurality of brushes or comb elements 23-brushes and combs may be employed with substantially equal effectiveness in the present invention'are arranged, for substantially radial extension from, and complete Withdrawal into, the housing 20.

Preferably, the external diameter of the housing' 20, at least at the brush portion thereof, is of the order of of anin ch. The handle portion 2[ thereof may be any suitable or convenient diameter.

Referring to Fig. 2, the. housing 29 is provided with end closure means, 24, 24, which may be screw-threadedly affixed to the housing 29, or secured thereto in any conventional manner affording the removal of' one or both, as desired. Rotatably mounted within the housing is an axially arranged brush-actuating shaft 25, suitably rotatably mounted'in bearing pockets formed in the end closures 24, 24. The shaft 25 is provided, at the brush end thereof, with threaded portions 26, 21, of suitable equal pitch, but opposite hand. At the handle end of the device, and

Finger piece 22 is arranged for longitudinal movernent within a slot or guideway 29, and said finger piece is in operative association with a bodiments of my invention lies in the fact that the brushes may be extended or withdrawn by female threaded collar 30. A longitudinal movement of the finger piece 22 causes a rotation the shaft, in one or another direction.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the plurality of brush or comb elements 23---four suchelemen'ts may be employed is mounted for retraction within or extension from the housing through the cooperation with said shaft 25, of a pairof brush supports 3|, 3|, a central bore of each of which is threaded for operative association with the respective threaded portions 26, 27, of the shaft 25. The supports 3| may have guide fins 32, see Fig. 5, arranged for slidablemovement within suitable keyways or guideways formed in the housing 20. The fins prevent rotation of the supports 3|, and rotation of the shaft 25 thus effects a simultaneous, but opposite, travel of th brush supports.

The supports 3| are formed with a plurality of spaced brackets 33, the number and angular disposition of such brackets being determined by the number of brush elements of the device.

For mounting the brush or comb elements 23 in conformity with the objects of the invention, each element may have a longitudinally arranged backbone 34, at the terminal ends of which are provided upstanding ears 35. Each of the brushes 23 may be operatively supported on appropriate brackets of the supports 3| by suitable links 36, each link being pivotally connected, at its respective ends, to'an ear and bracket 33. Each of the brushes 23 is thus independently mounted, see Figs. 2 and 6, but displaceable, as

a unit, with respect to the housing 20. For guid-- ing the brush elements, longitudinal slots 31 are cut through the Wall of the housing 20, said slots being of width suitable to slidably accommodate the brushes 23 and their associated supporting structures. I I

In assembling the device, the brushes may be completely mounted upon the left-hand support 3| and the shaft 25 passed through the threaded portion thereof, the reduced diameter end 25a and the reduced diameter threaded portion 28 of such shaft affording such insertion. Threaded portion 21 of the shaft may be screwed into the support 3|. The collar 30 is passed over the-reduced end 25a of shaft 25, and screwed-onto the threaded portion 28 thereof. The right-hand support 3| is then screwed into position on the shaft 25, and the pivotal link connection at the brush ends made to the respective lugs 33 of such support 3|. The assembled structure may be slidably inserted into the housing 28, the slots 37 thereof guiding such insertion. The finger piece 22 may be attached to its collar 30 to facilitate such attachment, the supporting post 38 of such finger piece may have a male threaded terminal end for screw threaded attachment to the collar 30. Finally, the end portions 24 may be positioned and screw threadedly or otherwise secured to the housing 20.

A structural and functional advantage of emcylindrical elements.

desired rotation of the shaft 25. A second form of shaft rotating structure is illustrated in Fig. 3, in which an extension of the shaft 25 may be provided with a fixed knob 22a, rotation of which initiates the movement of the brush supporting structures 3|. 7

Upon inserting the brush end of the device into the hair with the brushes withdrawn into the housing 253, rotation of shaft 25, as by movement of the finger piece 22 or rotation of knob 22a causes the brush supporting elements to move from the Fig. 2 to Fig. 4: position. Such movement of the supports 3| moves the brush elements 23 outwardly, the extent of such movement being determined by the amount of movement of the finger piece 22.

Upon twirling the device with the fingers, the brush elements penetrate the hair and simultaneously comb and curl a lock of hair. After such combing and curling, rotation of the shaft 25 in an opposite direction actuates the members 3| to withdraw the respective brushes into the housing 28, and thus permits the housing to be withdrawn from the curled lock of hair without disturbing the curl. 7

In the embodiment of Fig. 8, the comb or brush unit may comprise a desired plurality of suitable brushes or combs 4|, freely swingably mounted in cylindrical elements 53, 65, as by the insertion of pintles 62 formed at the ends of the backbone of each comb, into suitable bearing apertures provided in an end wall of the said cylindrical elements. Such bearing apertures are desirably near the periphery of the cylindrical elements, and are equally and uniformly spaced about circles of equal radius at the respective To integrate the combs and the therewith associated cylindrical elements into an operative unit, I prefer to employ the axially disposed shaft 45,

said shaft being secured tothe cylindrical elepreferably angularly disposed comb-guiding slots 46, there being a slot for each of the combs 4|. The comb unit may be slidably inserted into the housing from the end thereof, it being understood that the cylindrical elements are of such diameter as to engage the inner wall of the housing 20 snugly, but rotatably.

To rotate the comb unit, and thus to effect the extension or withdrawal of the combs with respect to the housing, I prefer to use a suitable finger piece, of the nature of a collar 41, operatively associated with the cylindricalelement 43 by a set screw 53, which passes through a suitable slot 49 in the wall of the housing 29. Offsets 5&1 may be provided at the ends of the slot 39, to afford means of locking the collar at one or the other of its extremes of rotation.

. removably secured to the end of the housing.

Upon removal of such plug, the comb unit may be: removed for replacement of the; elements.

thereof, cleaning, or other sanitary treatment.

Referring to Fig. 9, it is seen that the dis.- position of the comb elements .4, when in withdrawn position, is substantially tangential to the circle establishing the position of bearing. apertures. of the respective cylindrical elements. The width of slots 46 affords substantially radial extension of the combs or brushes, seeFi'g; 10, whileprovidinga. two point contact and support of. the combs when in such extended position.

Displacement of the finger piece, 41'! moves each comb outwardly through its respective slot; the combs are moved from angular to radial position by the camming action of the slots 45. during such outward movement. 7

In embodiments as represented. by Figs. 2. and 8, all of the brushing or combing elements need not be either brushes, or combs; it. may be desirable to employ alternate brushes or combs in forming the complete brushing and combing unit. Thus, the penetration of the comb teeth into the hair would be followed by a brushing. action of the immediately succeeding element. As readily understood, the cars 35 of the brushes 23 of Fig. 2

may be replaced. by pintles 42 of the combs 4!. of Fig. 8, for such alternate. arrangement of brush and-comb elements in the structure of Fig. 8-. Likewise, the combs 4! may be provided with the equivalent of the ears 35, to provide for alternate arrangement of brushes and combs in the embodiment of Fig. l.

The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 12 affords means of increasing the effective number of hairengaging brush elements. Such embodiment may include the housing 20, and end closures 51., 52 of the embodiment of Fig. 8.

In substitution for the individually mounted comb or brush elements of the previous embodiments, however, the instant. embodiment employs a suitable plurality of flexible bristles 69, which may be of animal or synthetic bristle material, fine piano wire, or like material combining attributes of flexibility and strength. As shown in Figs. 1-3 and 14 eight rows of bristles may be employed; the ends of said bristles may be secured in any desired manner to a central shaft d5. By any desired manner I include the use of suitable adhesives, molding the. bristles into a shaft d5 of synthetic plastic, or like means.

The shaft 45 is desirably secured, at its ends, to the cylindrical supports 6!, 62, said supports being snugly, but rotatably mounted within the housing 2?]. Finger piece means 4 may be operatively associated with cylindrical support 6i i by means of the set screw 58, as aforesaid.

Suitably configurated slots 63 formed in the casing 20 guide the bristles 5!] and afford support therefor.

In withdrawing the bristles 60 into the. casing, suitable movement of the finger piece 41 effects a winding of the bristles 555. about theshaft; the degree of rotation of such shaft necessary to withdraw the bristles completely into the casing depends upon the diameter of the shaft and the extent of projection of the bristles 5!) when in operative, i. e., Fig. 14, position.

Ring-locking means, as aforesaid, may be provided to retain the bristles in operative or withdrawn position.

My invention, in its illustrated forms, thereby includes a plurality of brushing or combing elements preferably equal in length, and ofsuch width, ie., length of bristle and/or comb tooth,

as to project substantially uniformly from the housing when in operative position, and withdrawable: into: said; housing to an extent preeluding projection therefrom when in such withdrawn position.

Whereas I have described my invention by reference to specific forms thereof, it will be understood that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A hair curling device including a tubular hollow body, handle means therefor, shaft means axially disposed within said hollow body and arranged for rotation therein, a plurality of hair brushes operatively associated with said shaft means and equidistantly spaced about said shaft means, and means operatively associated with said handle means and with said rotatable shaft for rotating said shaft to withdraw said hair engaging elements substantially entirely within said hollow body or to project said elements substantially radially from said hollow body and substantially equidistantly from the outer surface there- 2. A hair brushing and curling device comprising a tubular casing having a handle portion and a brush housing, a plurality of hair brushing means operativ-ely associated with said housing and arranged to be substantially fully contained therein or radially extended therefrom, shaft means rotatably mounted within said housing, said shaft means having threaded portions of equal pitch and opposite hand, threaded means mounted on said shaft threaded portions and arranged for travel along said shaft in opposite directions upon rotation of said shaft, link means operatively associating said hair brushing means with said threaded means, said link means enforcing extension of said hair brushing means uniformly outwardly of said housing upon travel of said: threaded means in one-direction and withdrawing sai'd hair brushing means into said housing upon reverse travel, and means for rotating said. shaftto effect such travel.

3. A hair brushing and curling device comprising atubular casing having a handle portion and a brush: housing, a plurality of hair brushes operatively associated with said housing and arranged to be substantially fully contained therein or extended radially therefrom, shaft means rotatably mounted within said housing, said shaft means having threaded portions .of equal pitch. and cpposi'te'hand, threaded hair brushing elementi supporting means mounted on said shaft threaded portions and arranged for travel along said. shaft in opposite directions upon rotation of said shaft, means operatively associating said hair brushing elements with said supporting means and adapted to enforce extension of said elements uniformly outwardly of said housing upon travel of said supporting means in one direction and withdrawing said elements into said housing upon reverse travel, screw threaded means disposed on said shaft adjacent said handle portion, and means associated with said handle'for moving said screw threaded means nonrotatably along said shaft to effect rotation thereof.

4. A hair curling device, including the combination with a smooth surfaced housing of uniform diameter having a fixed handle portion, said housing having a iCIOSBd end and a plurality of" guide slot means cut angularly through the wall of said housing and extending longitudinally thereof of a curling unit disposed within said housing, said unit comprising a plurality of hairengaging elements pivotally mounted on spaced rotatable supports adjacent the inner wall of said housing, said hair-engaging elements being operatively associated with said guide means and arranged for movement therethrough from a position within said housing to a position of radial extension therefrom, and means disposed 'on said handle portion and arnanged to rotate said curling unit to displace said hair engaging elements with respect to said housing to move said elements, through the said guideways, said hair engaging elements, when positioned in radial extension from said housing being supported by said guide slot means at opposite sides of said hair engaging elements.

5. A hair curling device, comprising a tubular casing having a handle-portion, a curling-element housing, a hair curling unit disposed therein, said unit comprising spaced rotatable elements, shaft means uniting said elements, a plurality of rows of flexible bristle means secured to said shaft means and arranged to be wound thereon, said rows being equally spaced about said shaft, guideways for said bristle means cut through the wall of said housing, and means for rotating said shaft to wind or unwind the bristles thereon, the length of the said bristles being such that when in wound status the ends of said bristles are engaged by said guide means below the surface of said housing, and when in unwound status the bristles project substantially equidistantly from said housing.

6. A hair curling device including a housing,

shaft means rotatably disposed within said housing, a plurality of hair-engaging elements of substantially uniform length operatively associated with said shaft means, said hair engaging elements being substantially equidistantly spaced about the longitudinal :axis of said housing, and finger-piece means displaceably mounted on said housing in operative association with said shaft means for rotating said shaft means to withdraw said pluralityof hair engaging elements substantially entirely within said housing or for propelling said elements substantially radially outwardly of said housing and substantially equidistantly from the outer surface of said housing, according to the direction of displacement of said finger piece means.

7. A hair brushing and curling device, including a casing having a handle portion and a brush housing of uniform diameter, guide means formed in said housing, and hair brush means arranged within said housing for displacement relatively thereto, said hair brush means including a plurality of hair brushes pivotally mounted on spaced rotatable support means, said hair brushes being operatively associated with said guide means and arranged for movement therethrough from a position within said housing to a position of radial extension therefrom upon rotation of said support means, and means for enforcing a conjoint rotation of said spaced brush support means; and finger piece means displaceably mounted on said handle means and in operative relation with said brush support means to rotate the same to move said brushes outwardly through said guide means into operative position or inwardly through said guide means to a position wherein the said brush means is wholly beneath the surface of said brush housing.

8. A hair curling device, including the combination with ;a smooth surfaced tubular housing of uniform diameter, and a handle portion fixed thereto, said housing having guide slot means formed in a wall thereof, of a curling unit disposed within said housing, said unit comprising a plurality of hair-engaging elements pivotally mounted on spaced rotatable supports adjacent the inner wall of said housing, said hair-engaging elements being operatively associated with said guide means and arranged for movement therethrough from a position within said housing to a position of radial extension therefrom, finger piece means disposed on saidfixed handle portion and arranged to rotate said curling unit to angularly displace said hair-engaging elements with respect to said housing to move said elements outwardly through the said guideways with-out longitudinal movement with respect to said housing and means for locking said rotatable supports against rotation.

9. A hair dressing device, including a housing, handle means secured thereto, shaft means disposed within said housing for movement therein, hair engaging means operatively associated with said shaft means for displacement substantially radially of said housing upon movement of said shaft means, and finger piece means rotatably mounted upon said handle means, said finger piece means being arranged in operative relation with said shaft means to move said shaft means in one or another direction to withdraw said hair engaging means substantially entirely into said housing or to project said hair-engaging means substantially solely radially outwardly of said housing according to the direction of rotation of said finger piece means.

10. A hair curling device including a tubular hollow body of substantially uniform diameter, shaft means disposed within said hollow body and arranged for rotation relatively thereto, a plurality of hair engaging elements operatively associated with said shaft means, said hair engaging elements being substantially equidistantly spaced about said shaft, and means slidably mounted with respect to said tubular body and in operative association with said shaft for withdrawing said hair engaging elements substantially entirely into said hollow body or for propelling said elements substantially radially from said hollow body and substantially equidistantly from the outer surface of said hollow body.

11. A hair dressing device including a housing, a plurality of hair engaging elements adapted to be displaced with respect to said housing for withdrawal substantially wholly thereinto or extension substantially radially outwardly therefrom into operative position, shaft means rotatably disposed within said housing, means operatively associating said shaft means and said hair engaging elements to withdraw said elements into said housing or extend the same therefrom according to the direction of rotation of said shaft means, and manually operable means for effecting desired rotation of said shaft means.

12. A hair dressing device including a. tubular housing, a plurality of units of hair brushes adapted to be displaced with respect to said housing for withdrawal substantially wholly thereinto or extension substantially radially outward therefrom at spaced intervals about said housing, shaft means disposed within said housing and movable relative thereto, means associated with said shaft means for pivotally supporting said brushes and adapted to displace said brushes relatively to said housing upon movement of said shaft means, and

manually operable finger piece means arranged adjacent said housing for effecting desired movement of said shaft means.

13. A hair dressing device including a tubular housing, a plurality of units of hair brushes adapted to be displaced with respect to said housing for withdrawal substantially wholly thereinto or extension substantially radially outward therefrom at spaced intervals about said housing, shaft means disposed within said housing and movable 10 

